This past weekend the La Sportiva Mountain Cup moved on from the venerable Vail Hill Climb to the inaugural La Sportiva Table Rock Trail Run put on by Pacific Coast Trail Runs from Stinson Beach in California’s Bay Area. Held close to sea level, the course still left runners breathless with over 3,200 of climb in 25k (15.5 miles). While the marine weather kept the runners and views socked in with fog, the competition for this year’s Mountain Cup was getting wicked hot. No fewer than nine top Mountain Cup competitors showed up for this seaside showdown and the series standings saw some serious shakeups.

The RaceMen’s Race
Wow! We can’t help but report on the guys first this week. Two leading Mountain Cup competitors – Jared Scott and Matt Byrne – made it a race to the wire for first with Scott (1:49:54) besting Byrne (1:49:57) by a scant three seconds! Byrne had an early lead and even lost sight of Scott, but the latter was relentless in reeling in the former. Ultra standout Dave Mackey (1:58:16) finished a distant third a few minutes ahead of Ryan Woods (2:00:35) who’s been leading the Mountain Cup all year. George Torgun (2:02:45) managed fifth.

Women’s RaceThe Arnold sisters continue to make a great showing in this year’s Mountain Cup. Ashley Arnold (2:06:57) won the women’s race at Table Rock while beating all but six of the guys. Lauren Arnold (2:15:10) was the next woman across the line about eight minutes behind her sister. Rachel Cieslewicz (2:17:10) and Alison Bryant (2:19:20) were the third and fourth women and women’s Mountain Cup contenders across the line. Rounding out the top five was ultrarunner Caren Spore (2:20:17). Annette Bednosky (2:30:14), another series competitor, was the sixth woman in the race.

Meghan Kimmel didn’t need to race to keep a firm lock on her La Sportiva Mountain Cup lead; however, all five of the next women in the series standings did race! Ashley Arnold moved into second place ahead of Rachel Cieslewicz by outscoring her by 9 points at Table Rock, while Cieslewicz was bumped down to third. Lauren Arnold moved from a tie for fifth to sole possession of fourth, 9 points behind Cieslewicz and 8 ahead of fifth place Alison Bryant, who had been tied for fifth. Despite racing, Annette Bednosky dropped from fourth to sixth place. That said, Bednosky is still only four points out of the money.

Unofficial Women’s Rankings through Table Rock

Megan Kimmel – 112 points (5 races – Did not race Table Rock)

Ashley Arnold – 85 pts (4 races – 28 pts from Table Rock)

Rachel Cieslewicz – 77 pts (5 races – 19 pts from Table Rock)

Lauren Arnold – 68 pts (4 races – 23 pts from Table Rock)

Alison Bryant – 60 pts (4 races – 15 pts from Table Rock)

Men
There may have only been one place change among the top five men because of Table Rock, but that doesn’t mean things weren’t shaken up. With four of those top five racing this past weekend, it’s a whole new series.

Ryan Woods remains at the top of the standings, as he has after each of the first nine series races this year. However, he now has only one more point than second place Jared Scott. Woods has scored in five series races, while Scott has only scored in four races. As only a series competitor’s top five races count toward their season total, Scott has one more race from which he’ll receive each and every point, whereas Woods can only his better his series point total by improving upon his lowest point race to date – 13 points at the Vail Hill Climb. That means if Scott finishes the series finale at the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase in two weeks, he’s all but assured the series win.

Matt Byrne did move past Jason Bryant into third. He’s now 14 points behind Woods, but, like Scott, Byrne’s only run four races and could make a run at Woods in the overall standings. It would be in the interest of all three gentlemen to have a final showdown in Park City in a couple weeks.

Jason Bryant dropped to fourth in the standings. He’s now 7 points behind Byrne and moved to 14 points ahead of fifth place Mountain Cup runner Bernie Boettcher. Like Woods, Bryant has run five races while Boettcher has only scored in three, so Boettcher can pass Bryant with a strong final race.

We’d be surprised if at least three of the top five men didn’t show up to the 2011 La Sportiva Mountain Cup finale as each has something to gain… or lose.

We’re going to get things rolling on a brand new La Sportiva shoe that we’re really excited about – the La Sportiva Skylite 2.0. It’s got the enhanced stability that we love in the Crosslite 2.0 with a lower platform in a 9.5 ounce package (men’s US 9). I’ve yet to run in these (we JUST got them), but I might be sporting them at the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase, which I’ll be running.

If you’d like to win and try out the La Sportiva Skylite 2.0 yourself? Simply leave your name and town (in the US or Canada) in a comment before we write about the next Mountain Cup race, the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase on August 6th. As a reminder, if you enter to win the Skylite 2.0 you’ll also automatically be eligible to win the grand prize at the end of August. Read up on the iRunFar.com La Sportiva Mountain Cup giveaway grand prize.

Call for Comments
If you ran the La Sportiva Table Rock Trail Run, please leave a comment letting everyone know what you think about the event.

This race course was an absolute blast! It was great to see all the top guys and girls again…. although many of them lost me after a few miles. This Texas guy isn't use to the crazy climbs that La Sportiva sponsored events are so well known for! It was still a great challenge and an excellent time. 13th Place never seems great but with top athletes coming in before me, no complaints here :-)